Renaissance Lac-Brome (RLB), in partnership with the Town of Brome Lake, has launched a new project called the "Educational Patrol Project."

RLB is a non-profit organization that protects and helps restore Brome Lake and its watershed. The organization’s new project is focused on educating and informing Brome Lake residents about the impacts of rainwater runoff on the lake and how they can do their part in minimizing its effect on the environment. It will also involve collecting data for the Town of Brome Lake to move forward with other projects. 

“The frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall is expected to increase in future years. With this new reality comes many rainwater management issues,” said Alix Tremblay, project manager. 

Tremblay explained that most towns, including the Town of Brome Lake, have a combined sewer system, meaning that rainwater and domestic sewage are collected in the same system. 

“When we have heavy precipitation, treatment plants are overloaded by a larger volume of water and causes this mix of domestic sewage and rainwater to spill directly into bodies of water, like water that is not being treated,” explained Tremblay. “This is extremely harmful to the ecosystems.”

She added that with the popularity of paved driveways, there is also less soil for the water to penetrate, to be filtered and to provide groundwater. The state of construction sites also serve as a hotspot for rainwater runoff. 

“The project is really a response to all of these issues,” noted Tremblay. 

Part of the project involves having an educational patroller who will be going door to door to educate Brome Lake citizens about the environmental impacts of rainwater runoff. 

“I’m not doing any formal inspections, I’m not there to police people about the state of their downspouts or their worksites. I’m just there to inform the public and to share knowledge and information about the best practices in terms of managing rainwater and runoff water on their property,” said Léa Couture, who is serving as the project’s educational patroller. 

Couture’s role extends to identifying any issues on a property or worksite and helping people implement solutions to improve their rainwater runoff footprint.

“The main solution is rain gardens. That’s basically a flowerbed that is meant to take up water from your gutters. We choose a special mix of indigenous plants that are meant to take up a lot of water during rain events. (…) Another easy solution for people are rain barrels that collect rainwater when it rains, and people can use it to water their flowers or any indoor or outdoors plants,” explained Couture. 

At the end of the day, Couture said she hopes that people realize how “interconnected” everything is. 

“Everyone can have an impact on the health of our lake and its watershed. Realizing that even just the downspouts on your own property, eventually that water does end up in the lake. Everyone can be conscious of their impact. That’s like the main, ultimate goal,” she noted. 

More information about the Educational Patrol Project can be found on Renaissance Lac-Brome's website.

Listen to the full interview below: